Motorists stop wrong-way driver from entering I-17 off-ramp

A man suspected of being impaired attempted to enter southbound Interstate 17 from the off-ramp at Dunlap Avenue after hitting a concrete barrier around 1 a.m., according to Sgt. Vince Lewis, a Phoenix police spokesman.(Photo: Arizona Department of Transportation)

Authorities say other motorists used their vehicles to block a wrong-way driver from entering Interstate 17 early Wednesday in Phoenix.

A man suspected of being impaired attempted to enter southbound I-17 from the off-ramp at Dunlap Avenue after hitting a concrete barrier around 1 a.m., according to Sgt. Vince Lewis, a Phoenix police spokesman.

Other motorists used their vehicles to block the roadway, preventing the wrong-way driver from continuing onto the interstate.

Lewis said the driver tried to "correct himself and drive off but subsequently crashed into a nearby gas station parking lot."

"Witnesses followed him until he high-centered his car and then stood by until police arrived," Lewis said.

Nine people have been killed in wrong-way crashes in Arizona so far this year.